Hatake Kakashi
by CANARYwolf
Summary: Behind the mask is a cynical smile; Behind those eyes are hurt and regret... but why? How did the happy, smiling toddler become this man?It was through heartache, heartbreak, death and, above all, living in this cold world. KakaXRin CANCELLED
1. Chapter 1: Innocence and expectation

Kakashi: Aged 0

The baby's cries echoed through the walls of the small waiting room, and the lone man jumped up, rushing to the wooden door. A moment later a medical ninja opened the door a fraction, and her face told the man in a second the bad news. He pushed past her into the room and he saw his wife, spread out on the bed, cradling a tiny body to hers. Her eyes met his for an instant, and she smiled,

"His hair is a lot like yours, eh, Sakumo?" A chuckle escaped her lips, " Like a scarecrow… Call him Kakashi for me?"

Her husband rushed to the side of the bed and threw himself down beside her,

"Keiko… it's not… you're not…!" He spluttered, but she reached a hand out and touched his cheek softly,

"The doctor can't do anything, Sakumo, we always knew there was the risk-" Her body heaved with a cough and the baby began to howl louder, "I… I… love you…" Keiko's head slumped and Sakumo took the bawling child from her as the medical ninja came to stand beside him, and put her hand on his shoulder,

"I'm sorry, Hatake-san." She said softly, and the man did not respond, as a chilling shinobi calm took over his face. He stood up, taking one last fleeting glance at his wife, unmoving on the hospital bed, and left with their baby in his arms.

Kakashi: Aged 1

Sakumo rushed through the front door, barely remembering to pull his sandals off before reaching the living room, where the nurse was cradling his son. She looked up, shocked, and then her features broke into a smile,

"Hatake-san," She murmured so as not to wake the sleeping baby, "Have you completed your latest mission?"

The man nodded, holding out his arms to take the boy,

"Am I too late to take him to his check-up?" Sakumo asked, and the nurse nodded, "Damn!" He cursed,

"But there's good news!" The nurse smiled again, "The doctor said that his chakra reserves look extremely promising."

The man looked at her, "Meaning…?"

"He is going to be a very skilled ninja, sir, much like his father."

Sakumo sighed, frowning,

"Thank you for taking him, Yuki-kun. But, couldn't it wait for one day, so I could be there?"

"Sorry sir, but the appointment was today. There was nothing I could do. I did try, Hatake-san." Yuki bowed, "Um… if it's ok with you, sir, can I be excused for today? He only just went to sleep, he shouldn't wake up for a while."

Sakumo's eyes widened,

"No, no, I mean, of course that's fine. Thank you, Yuki-kun- I really appreciate your help." The girl bowed and hurried out, as Sakumo stared unseeingly at the door. The he looked back to the sleeping boy and smiled, "You're a chip off the old block, then, eh Kakashi?" He kissed his child on the forehead and carried him gently to the crib, where he tucked the baby in carefully. Then he watched the fluttering breaths of the one-year-old as he sank back into sleep. Sighing, Sakumo's eyes travelled upwards to the bookcase, where a smiling image of Keiko Hatake watched over their son. He gave a small, self-conscious smile to the photograph and then moved into the kitchen to whip up some sort of meal.

Little Kakashi's sleeping face had no frown on it, and his scarecrow hair fell across his eyes in an unkempt waterfall of grey. It barely reached his ears and yet its static nature meant that it gave him a couple of inches more height than he really had. The child's breath murmured in the room as an evening breeze from the open window moved the strands of his silver hair a little.

Kakashi: Aged 2

The nurse, Yuki, waved a toy kunai in front of the toddler's face as she held the phone to her ear,

"…Yeah… I know, honey, but I can't leave him… yeah, Sakumo's not back… He's only two; I can't leave him on his own! And anyway, Hatake-san always pays me overtime… I know… I know… he hasn't shown any particular promise, not like his father… Sakumo? He says just to give it time… He's going to enrol him in the Academy as soon as he can… yeah, but then what am I going to do? This is my best job!... I guess… ok… love you too… bye!" With a sigh, Yuki hung up the phone and ruffled Kakashi's hair, as the boy grinned toothily at her, "Man, you're a cute kid, though! Shame you're just going to be in the shadow of your father." She stood up and put the telephone back on its hook, just as Sakumo opened the front door,

"Ah! Yuki-kun! I apologise for my lateness!" He said quickly, and she smiled politely, moving back to let him into the living room, "Hello, son!" He grinned and received an answering smile from the toddler, "Yuki-kun, you can leave if you want- I'm sorry you ended up working late again."

"Don't worry, Hatake-san. I'll get my coat." She disappeared into the corridor, and a moment later Sakumo heard the door slam. Kakashi held a sticky fist out to his father and gave him the toy kunai. Sakumo rolled his eyes at the child's innocence, and sat down near him,

"Now, Kakashi," He began severely, "Have you been practising?"

The toddler pushed himself up, nodding cheerfully, and clumsily waved his hands about in the vague shapes of the ninjutsu hand signs. Sakumo sighed, and held up a palm to stop his son,

"How are you ever going to achieve anything if you can hardly make the hand signs?" He muttered under his breath, then his face brightened for his son and he stood up,

"I'll see about dinner." He was used to talking and receiving no reply; the boy could talk, but only when he wanted to, and even then his round about ramblings rarely had any significance to his father. He unconsciously smiled at the photograph of his late wife on the shelf, and trailed his son into the kitchen.

Kakashi: Aged 3

"What do you mean, a 'U'?" Sakumo roared causing his son to flinch, and even the teacher winced slightly,

"My apologies, Sakumo, but children aren't even supposed to enter the Academy this early. It's no wonder he is so far behind the other children. Maybe you should-"

"-Wait a few years? Hah! Don't mock me! I entered the Academy at this age, and I see no reason why my son shouldn't. I would have thought you, Naoki, would understand that!"

The teacher sighed, as Sakumo stood up forcing his chair to scrape back loudly, and stalked to the window,

"Sakumo… Hasn't it occurred to you that Kakashi just might not be… as gifted as you? Of course it will be hard for him to measure up to you; you are Konoha's White Fang!"

Sakumo's shoulders sagged, and he returned to the table slowly, not meeting his son's wide eyes. Kakashi had sat silently for his rant, and his face betrayed no emotion, even for a child so small.

"People did say… when I married Keiko… that our son would never be as talented as me… but I loved her, Naoki!"

Naoki looked at his hands,

"All we can do now is give him special tutoring, if you refuse to withdraw him from the Academy," he said softly. Sakumo's face hardened,

"No child has ever become a notable shinobi as a result of that kind of special tutoring." He said shortly, and looked straight at his friend, "Can't you give him another chance?"

Naoki looked straight into his eyes,

"There's only so far I can go for you, Sakumo. I'm a teacher. I need to keep my respectability," He took another look at Sakumo's fallen features, "… but I guess I can do something this time. You owe me, though! The kid's sweet, anyway."

Sakumo rolled his eyes,

"Don't call my son 'sweet'!" He replied, but his eyes had brightened again, "Thank you, Naoki, you don't know how much this means to me."

"I think I do. That's why I'll go this far for you. But, Sakumo,' He caught his friend's arm, "I won't be able to do this for you again. If he doesn't show any improvement in one year, I will have to kick him out of the Academy for the time being."

"I understand, Naoki." The White Fang stood up, grabbing his son's arm and pulling him out of the room, "Until next time!"


	2. Chapter 2: Proving yourself

**Ok, so here's the next chapter ^.^ This is just a sort of build-up for when the action starts going a bit more, starting from the next chapter- but please remember to review this one anyway, and tell me what you think!**

**Oh yeah,**

**Disclaimer: I think it's pretty evident I don't own these characters. I'm not Kishimoto… otherwise we'd see a lot more of Gaara in the series, **_**trust me**_**!**

**Gaara: Pervert**

**CANARYwolf: And what? –raspberry- I can't help it if I want to see your chest a little more-**

**Gaara: I'll shut her up. Enjoy the chapter!**

Kakashi: Aged 4

"Can't you even do that, Kakashi?"

"His father's the White Fang, you know?"

"Well he doesn't have any of his dad's talent!"

"I can't believe the teachers think we should have a classes with a kid like this."

"I heard they're going to expel him."

"Hey, you lot!" A teacher hurried over to the growing crowd of taunting children surrounding the young Hatake, "Break it up!"

"Sensei, what do you think about Kakashi, then?" A boy of around six turned to the teacher, "Is it true that they're going to get rid of him?"

How do they hear these things? the teacher mused, and raised an eyebrow,

"Kakashi's education might be postponed until he has reached the typical Academy entrance age." She stated,

"So he is getting kicked out, then?" A girl asked, innocently enough and the teacher frowned,

"That's not what I said. Now, get away from him." She found the four-year-old cowering at the centre of the circle, and pulled him up, "You can't always let them bully you, Kakashi." She scolded, and brought him through the crowd into the cool corridors of the Academy, "You stay there." She commanded and disappeared into the staff room.

Kakashi's eyes roved innocently over the displays surrounding the windows as the thick walls muffled the children's cries in the playground. Before long, the teacher appeared back, bringing Naoki with her.

"What's this I hear about you getting bullied again, Kakashi?" He crouched down to face the child, who merely stared at him without answering, "Don't you think it will make your dad upset to hear you've been letting them do that again?" Kakashi said nothing, "Remember you need to be trying very hard right now to show us that you deserve to stay here," No answer, "Have you been practising?" Nothing. Naoki turned helplessly to the female teacher,

"We're just going to have to call Sakumo in," She shrugged, "We can't let this kid sit at the back of the classes not learning anything. You know he hasn't displayed even one jutsu in this whole year?"

Naoki shook his head slowly,

"I'll deal with Sakumo." He muttered, and the other teacher sighed thankfully,

"Rather you than me." She said and left the two alone in the corridor again. Naoki looked thoughtfully at Kakashi, who was still eyeing him with the same emotionless gaze,

"You are clever, Kakashi, I know that. You just have to show it sometimes. That's all." As he expected, the boy didn't reply, and Naoki took him into an empty classroom to await the arrival of his father.

Konoha's White Fang burst into the classroom in white-hot fury,

"Naoki, don't you dare tell me they're kicking Kakashi out!" He roared, and Naoki stood up, a hand on the boy's shoulder,

"Sakumo, unless he displays some form of potential today at the mid-year exams, he's just going to have to go. We've been getting grief from the other parents recently, you know. They think that it's unfair a child should have such preferential treatment, Sakumo, just because of your position in the village." Sakumo seemed to deflate, "I'm giving you the opportunity now to take him out now. It will save him embarrassment later, for the exams."

"Has he really not shown you any jutsus?" Sakumo asked quietly,

"None. Why? Has he used any at home?" Naoki's voice was eager, but Sakumo dispelled his hope with one shake of his head,

"Kakashi," Sakumo turned to his son, "What do you want to do?" The boy stared at him as quietly as ever, and his father sighed, "So he's in one of these moods? Maybe I should just pull him out."

"No." Both his father and his teacher stared in surprise at the little boy, who blinked, "I want to do the test."

"… Are you sure, Kakashi?" Naoki murmured, fixing his eyes on the boy, who nodded. Naoki looked to Sakumo and shrugged,

"It's your call. If he wants to do it… well, I'll leave it to you to decide."

"Are you sure, Kakashi?" Sakumo watched his son nod again, "Even though you can't do jutsus?"

Kakashi looked at his father, emotionless again, and his father threw his hands up in the air,

"He knows what it means if he fails. If he wants to do, let him. It'll teach him how he should have progressed, anyway." Sakumo threw his arms up in the air, and then bowed to Naoki, "I'll be back to collect him. Good luck, son." He ruffled Kakashi's hair pensively and disappeared. Naoki regarded Kakashi,

"It's just putting off the inevitable, you know, kid." He sighed, "If only you knew at least one jutsu." He looked up at the sound of the bell, "But now the tests are starting. Kakashi, do your best!"

Kakashi stared after the teacher's retreating back, and began to wander towards his classroom.

Sakumo couldn't contain his nerves as children, laughing, began to trickle out of the Academy with their proud parents. He paced up and down outside the gate, then wondered why; Naoki had made it pretty clear what his son's chances of passing were. Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching and saw Naoki's pink face as he dragged Kakashi along behind him,

"Sakumo! Sakumo! He passed! He did it!"

Hearing these words, Sakumo's eyes sparkled and he just stood and stared, as Naoki got closer,

"They said, he only needed to do one jutsu, and asked him to do whatever he wanted. So he took one look at the examiner and did a perfect imitation of what the last kid had just done- and that kid was in the highest year, by the way- it was a perfect clone!" Naoki had reached his friend and stood in front of him, panting, "He passed right away!"

Sakumo could only stare at his son, who stared back,

"Why didn't you do something before now?" He shouted angrily, but Naoki could see the happiness that lay under the surface, "Why did you make me worry so much?"

The young boy's face broke into a rare smile,

"Sorry, father." He said, in a voice that was not remotely sorry, and bowed,

"Yes, well, can you show me it now?"

"Do I have to?" Kakashi asked sullenly and Sakumo hit him round the head,

"Honestly! One minute you're hardly responsive and the next you're being cheeky!"

The child cast his eyes down, and Naoki rolled his eyes,

"Don't be hard on him, Sakumo! Seriously, he wasn't expected to learn a jutsu of that sort for at least another few years. Even the examiner was shocked."

Behind them, there was a small **poof** and they turned to see Kakashi's clone. The child then made it disappear and bowed again,

"There, father." He said quietly, "Sorry for being cheeky."

"He's just proud, isn't he?" Naoki grinned, but Kakashi had quickly gone back to being unresponsive and did not answer the smile. Sakumo sighed,

"So much stress! Well, Naoki, sorry for his obstinacy before now. I trust this has quietened those other parents."

"Pretty well, I think. Anyway, see you tomorrow, Kakashi!" The man sped back into the Academy, and Kakashi stared up at his father, who rolled his eyes,

"Why did you do something like that?' He sighed, but even Kakashi could see the pleasure in his face, as he took him by the arm and began the walk home.


	3. Chapter 3: Strangers in the night

Kakashi: Aged 5

Kakashi sat nervously, although he hardly showed it; awaiting his father's return. Although he had been due an hour ago, Kakashi knew better than to expect Sakumo on time. Idly his gaze wandered around the room; he was trying to tell himself that this boredom was some sort of training, but he was beginning to get a little annoyed. For a second, his eyes settled on the image of his late mother, smiling in giddy joy at the camera, but his eyes were unreadable, and he moved on. In his hands he clutched a leaf headband.

It was dark, and it had been for quite some time, before Sakumo made it through the front door. His eyes scanned the blackened room, and came to rest on the barely-visible form of his son, lying asleep by the table, his shock of grey hair striking against his black outfit. He must have nodded off waiting for him- again. The man walked slowly towards Kakashi, with the silent tread of a shinobi, and crouched down to his level. Gently, he ran a hand through his son's hair and a faint smile played along his lips,

"Kakashi?" he whispered. To the child's credit, his eyes immediately snapped open,

"… Father…?" Kakashi blinked blearily, and then he suddenly gasped, "Father! Father!"

"What? What?" Sakumo mimicked his son's excited tone as he crossed the room and turned on the lights. Kakashi jumped up, his eyes shining in a rare display of unchained happiness. Wordlessly, he handed the headband to his father, who took it and stared at it for a moment. He didn't say anything.

"Father…?" Kakashi asked, and Sakumo shook himself, distractedly,

"What is this?"

"I graduated the Academy, father." Kakashi said with a small voice, but he couldn't help a little amount of pride seeping through again, "What do you think?"

Sakumo's distracted eyes focused on Kakashi and his eyes widened,

"Oh! I mean, that's excellent!" He managed a smile, but Kakashi's eyes narrowed,

"What's wrong, father?" he asked suspiciously, and Sakumo sighed,

"How can I not hide things from you, Kakashi?" He didn't expect a reply, and slumped down into his seat, "It doesn't matter. You're a genin now! Isn't that great?"

"It does matter." Kakashi said obstinately. Sakumo looked at his through a hand he had over his face and sighed again,

"It's… it… doesn't matter. You should be in bed. I told you not to stay up for me again!"

Kakashi looked hurt by the sudden change in his father's tone, and slammed to his feet, snatching the headband away and running up the stairs,

"Fine! I thought you would be happy!" He shouted down angrily, and shut himself into his room. Sakumo stared up at the point where Kakashi had disappeared for a moment, and then stood up a second before the knock came at the door.

"Hatake! Open up!" A multitude of voices cried, and he disappeared from the room, opening the door and glaring at the jounin.

"Don't shout. My son's asleep." He muttered, and the group eyed him coldly,

"You forfeited the mission," The leader said, quietly but still dangerously. Sakumo nodded,

"To save my comrade's life." He stated emotionlessly, and the jounin sneered,

"Your actions cost the village far more than the loss of one shinobi's life."

"I know." Sakumo muttered.

Above them, his eyes shining in the starlight, Kakashi listened to every word, too angry to sleep. Creeping as silently as he could, he peeked over his windowsill and watched as the jounin gave Sakumo his orders: to report to the Hokage first thing in the morning for a disciplinary hearing.

"And you know what that mean, don't you?" The jounin asked sourly. Sakumo said nothing, "It's goodbye to your beloved nickname, 'White Fang'!"

Sakumo glared at the jounin and stepped backwards,

"If that is all you have to say to me, I would like to get some rest. Goodbye." His words sounded final, and although the jounin shot a few more dirty looks at him, they jumped away into the night.

"Kakashi?" A voice called from the street. Kakashi, wide-eyed, looked out to see his father staring up at his window, "I thought I told you to go to sleep." Kakashi held his eyes for a minute before submitting and ducking away from the open window. He didn't hear his father re-enter the house as his head hit the pillow. He didn't remember anything else.

**Ok, so this is a short one, but I wanted to split it from the next chapter… what will happen next, I wonder…? You know what, reviews are always helpful HINT HINT… love CANARYwolf**


	4. Chapter 4: Foreboding

When Kakashi woke up, he felt the wrongness of the day seeping into his head. It was barely dawn, and weak light filtered in from the street outside. The birds weren't singing. The birds were always so happy. Why weren't they singing? The five-year-old slipped out of his bed and into his slippers, padding out of his room and along the corridor. In his hand he still clutched his new headband; he had gone to sleep with it cradled in his arms.

He reached his father's bedroom door and hesitated. He had long since grown out of waking his father up when he was scared, knowing how angry his father got when nothing was really the matter. But this time was different. Kakashi bit his lip as he reached a trembling hand up to knock at the door and his sleep-filled eyes regarded the wood in front of him as nothing happened. He knocked again. Not a sound. This struck the boy as even stranger than the absence of the dawn chorus of birds. His father always woke up. He woke up before you reached the door. If he wanted, he could be behind you with a kunai around your neck before you touched the door handle.

Breathing quickly, Kakashi laid his palm on the handle and started suddenly, spinning around in a defensive position. Minutes passed. He looked up again. No one was there. With heavy reluctance, and a foreboding frown on his face, Kakashi turned slowly back around and opened the door.

He recoiled, throwing up into the corner, behind the door. Then he ran for help.

**Ok, so this is insanely short, I know. But I like cliffhangers, so sue me! This also means the next chapter will be up really quickly, and surely that's a good thing, right? Now you all know the drill… REVIEW, PEOPLE! Seriously, it'll help, I promise!**


	5. Chapter 5: Reaction

**YEESH THAT TOOK ME A WHILE TO UPDATE!... I don't have an excuse, though… Again, I apologise for the shortness of last chapter, but… I HAD TO DO IT TO YOU! **

**Disclaimer: Blahblahblah it's not mine, except for the OCs. Good.**

"… what to do with him… no, he didn't know anything… I don't think you should… he's in a state of shock right now… yes, he saw the body… no… no… Kakashi?" The call of his name brought Kakashi out of the meditative state he had been in as he sat on a bench outside of the Hokage's office. The boy had been letting the murmurs of the conversation wash over him as he stared unseeingly at the wall opposite. It had only been four hours since he saw… his father. Now Konoha had come to life and around him the day was beginning. The Hokage and Naoki had been in conversation for a little while, no doubt concerning his future. As of yesterday, Kakashi was a genin, and should be assigned to a team. However, he knew that the Sandaime Hokage was considering pulling him back into education, to minimise the vast change to his life that he was going to feel. As if that could be achieved.

Naoki opened the door and Kakashi got to his feet, suddenly stumbling and blinking. Naoki smiled down at him carefully, sadly, and caught him before he fell. Kakashi didn't meet his eyes, and walked past him into the office, where the Hokage sat with compassionate eyes. Naoki followed him in, and silently closed the door behind them.

"Kakashi… I…" The Hokage started, but faltered as the five-year-old met his eyes with a stony cold gaze.

"I don't want to go back to the Academy." He said simply. The Hokage looked at Naoki, and then back to Kakashi,

"It might be for the best, Kakashi," He murmured, but the boy was adamant,

"Why don't you want to, kiddo?" Naoki asked quietly, and Kakashi looked at his feet,

"I will join a team, and then a year from now I will take the chuunin exams."

"You're only five, Kakashi!" The Hokage argued, but he merely nodded,

"My **father** took the exam then, didn't he?" He replied emotionlessly, and the Hokage cast his eyes down,

"Look, I know this is hard for you, young as you are-"

"Don't patronise me." Both the teacher and the Hokage gasped at the boy's words, but he carried on, "Maybe you're worried about if I would make a good ninja, because my father broke the rules. What he did makes no difference to me."

Naoki took him by the shoulders and forced him to look up,

"Kakashi! Where did you learn to talk like that? Your father was a hero!"

"He was a coward. He makes me ashamed." Kakashi spat, and the Hokage stood up suddenly, pulling Kakashi with him and walking to the window overlooking the village,

"Is that what you really think?" He asked, his eyes facing away from the boy, who nodded stubbornly, "So you will disown your father?" Kakashi hesitated but then nodded again, "Then there's nothing to be done." The Hokage turned back to face Naoki, "He will live with you for the time being, Naoki." He commanded, and Naoki bowed, before casting a confused and saddened look at Kakashi,

"Come on, Kakashi." He murmured and they bowed again and left the office.

**Ok, so this one is quite short again… I'm warming up, I promise! I think I made Kakashi a little OC, so any thoughts would be really helpful… hear that, people? REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6: The first test

**AHHH It took me such a long time to update!!! How can you ever forgive meeee? CANARYwolf is sorry :'( Oh right,**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the world.**

**Good. Please don't hate me for taking so long! Here it is, anyway.**

**Oh, an obento is a packed lunch ^.^**

Kakashi: Aged 6

Naoki stretched and took a sip of his coffee. He hadn't been able to sleep the night before and at five a.m. had finally given in and got dressed again. A small tapping of feet on the stairs told him that Kakashi was awake.

"Kakashi? You're up early!" He called as the child himself made an appearance at the door. Kakashi didn't respond, but sat down opposite him at the table with a bowl of cereal, "Are you excited about today then?" Naoki tried again, and the silver-haired genin answered with a withering look,

"Hn." He muttered, and Naoki just smiled, and then stood up,

"You'll be off in a minute, yeah?" Kakashi replied with a nod, and Naoki went to a cupboard, opening the door and rifling through a jumble of things. Kakashi watched him wordlessly as he found what he was looking for and pulled out a tattered grey bandana. Naoki brought it to the table and set it down in front of him, looking at his face for any reaction. Kakashi looked away,

"No." Was all he said,

"Kakashi-!" Naoki sighed as the youngster stood up, scraping his chair along the floor,

"You can't avoid all memories of your father for ever!" Naoki muttered, shaking his head, and Kakashi surprised him by meeting his eyes for once,

"I can try." He stated grimly and left the room to get ready.

Kakashi was six, and as he had promised, he was ready for the chuunin exams. Naoki had argued furiously against letting such a young boy take part, but Kakashi had been adamant. The Hokage had resigned to Kakashi's will, telling Naoki aside that if the boy failed it would be a good learning experience for him.

Naoki put the finishing touches on Kakashi's obento and folded it up in a blue cloth, before slipping Sakumo's mask furtively into the recesses of the pouch. Kakashi returned and eyed Naoki suspiciously and the man wordlessly handed him the obento. He had thought that Naoki would want to talk more, but instead the teacher patted him on the head, murmured a few words of encouragement and didn't even see him to the door.

Kakashi left, feeling small. As soon as he was far enough away from the house, he opened the obento and let the mask fall to the ground, sighing. He walked a few paces on, then ground to a halt. Glancing back at the mask, lying in the dust of the deserted street, Kakashi returned and picked it up slowly. He shook it and then thoughtfully turned it over in his hands. Checking that no one was around, he tied it over his nose and mouth, and then carried on walking self-consciously. At a bridge, he peered over the side and looked at his reflection in the water. He bit his lip and looked again, before resuming his long stride, his eyes cast down.

Kakashi met his team halfway to the examination halls; two teenagers and their sensei, placed with Kakashi at the last minute because one of their team had fallen ill and the kid hadn't had anyone to go with. All the children his age were still barely able to use even one jutsu, let alone be genin ready to take the chuunin exam. He nodded to them and the sensei, an older woman from the Hyuuga clan, widened her eyes slightly at Kakashi's appearance in his father's mask. His teammates were two girls, unnerved by a child taking the exams and disdainful of his abilities, which they had seen so little of as they had only had a week to train together. In silence, they carried on to the exams.

The Hokage looked up; the current head of the interrogation squad, a fierce man with bandages crossing his face, was standing silently, waiting to be acknowledged.

"What is it?" the Sandaime sighed, pushing aside a pile of paperwork. The man stepped forward,

"You asked me to report on the chuunin exams so far. In particular, Hatake Kakashi."

The Third Hokage nodded thoughtfully,

"Yes, yes I did. So…?"

"He passed the first round. It is unclear how he managed to answer all the questions correctly, but he did."

"He _does_ live with Naoki… and the tenth question, how did that go?"

"More teams than average failed that question, but that Hatake kid… just sat there. His teammates were on the verge of quitting, I think, but they managed to pull through."

"When is the second test?"

"Tomorrow, nine o'clock."

"Thank you. Please report to me again tomorrow."

The proctor left with a bow and the HJokage's eyes narrowed. He stood up and walked to a filing cabinet, pulling out the 'Hatake, Kakashi' file. Looking at it for a few minutes, he shook his head and put it back slowly and sadly.

Kakashi arrived home quietly and attempted to sneak past the door to the living room.

"Kakashi? You're home?" Kakashi rolled his eyes as Naoki came out to the door, quickly pulling off the mask before the man saw him wearing it.

"Yeah…" Kakashi turned to look at Naoki, who grinned,

"How'd it go?" Kakashi shrugged,

"Passed." He muttered, and tried to walk on,

'But that's _brilliant!_" Naoki cried, pulling the boy by his arm into the living room and sitting him down, "I've just finished baking some celebratory cakes, you just have to have one!"

"Don't you have any work to do…?" Kakashi murmured as Naoki bustled off,

"Hey! I heard that!" The teacher called as he came back in, bearing a tray full of steaming cakes, "Have as many as you want."

Kakashi sighed, but then took two and began to eat slowly. Naoki watched him for a second and then drew in a deep breath,

"I… heard from your sensei… you wore a mask to the exams." He said slowly, and Kakashi kept on eating,

"And?" He asked after a minute, and Naoki smiled in happiness when Kakashi wasn't looking,  
"No reason, no reason!" He said in a sing-song voice, and took a bite of cake,

"So what was the exam like then?"

"Boring." Kakashi said quickly, and Naoki laughed,  
"Yeah, I bet. Come on, Kakashi! That's the _chuunin _exams you're talking about! Did they do it with the nine written questions and then the optional tenth question again?" The kid nodded, and Naoki smirked, "Yeah, that's how it was for me. I'm glad you passed, kid." The man ruffled Kakashi's grey hair and stood up, "Now, don't stay up too late! Next exam's a whole lot harder, okay?"

"'Kay." Kakashi said in a small voice, and stood up as well, tugging on Naoki's sleeve, "Will… will… you help me train?" He finally blurted out and Naoki grinned, stretching his arms up,

"I'm not gonna go easy on you!" He threatened, and led the way outside.

**Ah, that was a long time coming! In the next chapter, I'll actually write about the exams- you won't have to hear about it third person ^.^ Now you all know what to do- review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Suspicion

**I'm SO SORRY I took so long to update! If you read Fruits Basket, imagine Ritsu on one of his apologising kicks… if you don't… well, I'm sorry, 'kay? Anyway… Welcome back to myself!!!!! Yes, well… I may have neglected to mention that I was going on holiday… But I'm back now, so here it is… the second test of the chuunin exams!**

**Disclaimer: Do you reckon I still have to do this now? I've said so many times before! Anyway, I own nothing, so… sorry? ^.^**

**Enjoy!**

"Morning children! Ain't it a lovely day?" A dark-haired man grinned down from the top of a podium, as the girls next to Kakashi went wild,

"That's Takeo! Takeo from the ANBU! Oh Kami, he's looking at us! The God is looking at us!" Setsuko and Miu hyperventilated as the flashy man spun around and grinned at them,

"I hope you put as much energy into your fighting as you do into your stupidness." Kakashi muttered, and Setsuko slapped him around the head,

"Shut up, kid! You don't know anything!" She hissed, and then put on a sickening smile for the proctor.

"Heh. Kakashi, you'll never understand, 'cause you're a boy. Don't worry!" Miu smiled down at him, and pulled Setsuko away, before straightening his facemask, "You should probably learn how to tie this properly." She patted him on the head and he scowled at her,

'You only treat me like that because you think I'm some sort of plushie." He retorted, and her eyes flashed angrily, as she straightened up, turning her attention back to the proctor, who had begun to outline the second exam. He heard the words 'annoying child thinks he's better than us' before he tuned out of their wavelength and took a look around himself instead.

"This place is friggin' chaotic!" An older teenager to his right sighed, and the guy's teammate, an imposing woman in a lot of fishnet material, punched him,

"Do I not keep on telling you that swearing is not allowed in this team?" She said in an impossibly genteel voice. Kakashi eyed her warily, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "Ah! The adorable child from yesterday! I'm honoured to make your acquaintance again!" She extended a hand out towards him, and he stared at her coldly,

"The exams are full of weirdos." He muttered under his breath, and she recoiled in overly dramatic horror,

"Darling? Darling! Did you hear that? Did you hear what that brat said to me?" The man called 'darling' turned around slowly, and Kakashi wrinkled his nose at the ugliness of that man's face. His nose must have been broken so many times that he'd lost count, and his left eye was covered with an eye patch. Scars criss-crossed along his bone structure. The man grunted, and Kakashi took an involuntary step backwards.

"I don't know why we are even here!" The woman sighed softly, having forgotten the small child already, "It's all so hopeless, darling!"

The man grunted again, in reply, and gave Kakashi a glare before turning back around.

Kakashi regarded the strange team for a minute, then, with a last suspicious backwards glance, turned backwards just in time to hear the end of the proctor's speech:

"So all you cuties just need to reach this tower here, ok? You all got that?" Kakashi assumed all of the girlish screams meant 'yes', and he tugged at Miu's sleeve,

"What do we have to do?" She rolled her eyes,

"You should have been listening! Look, Setsu-chan and me have this sorted, 'kay? There's nothing for you to do. Just keep up with us." She tuned back around to giggle with Setsuko and Kakashi tipped his head to one side, as he watched the proctor, Takeo, jump down and sling his arm around a blushing genin. Feeling the attention, the man's head snapped around and he did a slight double take at the sight of the small grey-haired child in a mask. Then he flashed a massive, fake grin and snapped his fingers at Kakashi,

"Good luck, kid!" he called. Kakashi wrinkled his nose in disgust and followed his teammates as they moved with the crowds towards a massive green tent.

Setsuko picked up a scroll from a table and signed her name off with the jounin there. It was coloured a deep blue and Kakashi's shining eyes followed it as the girl placed it in her shoulder bag,

"What do we do with it?" He breathed, unable to keep the awe from his voice. Setsuko scowled at him,

"It's nothing special, brat. It's called an 'Earth' scroll. Other teams have 'Heaven' scrolls, and we have to get one. Then we take them to the tower in the middle of the compound. But me and Miu-chan can handle it, so don't get in the way."

"Kami, I can't believe sensei actually allowed him on our team." Miu sighed, and they started to make their way towards the exit of the tent again.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at them, and then looked at the floor. He could see shiny lines moving like snakes just above the dirt and, suspiciously, he knelt down. Reaching out a finger, he tapped one and leapt back with a yelp as it burnt his hand. Hissing, he shook out the pain and squinted at light threads again. Then his eyes widened, as he followed the thread and noticed it come to an end in the middle of the back of one of the genin. The competitor, a blonde guy with electric blue highlights, didn't seem to be aware of the connection, and Kakashi doubted that it belonged to him, as the small boy began to notice trails leading to other genin in the tent. Then he made fists with his small hands, as the thought stuck him that the only people with these threads of light were the ones he'd already singled out as the stronger competitors. Could it be… a cheater? He bent down again and examined the light closely, realising finally that it was chakra. Some dirty fighter was going to do something to the better genin as soon as the second exam had started, Kakashi decided, and turned to see the proctor, Takeo, the flashy one, winking down at him.

"Hey, Mr. Takeo, there's-!" He was cut off as Takeo drew a finger to his lips in a shushing movement,

"There are no rules from here on out, son." He whispered, and melted into the crowd. Kakashi scowled, and stepped carefully over the lines, before weaving his way out of the tent to catch up with his teammates.

He caught up with the girls as they waited outside the main gate, searching for their names on a massive board that had appeared.

"Man, Kakashi, do you know how long we've been waiting for you?!" Setsuko scolded, as Miu suddenly leapt up,

"There we are! There we are! Gate 3! C'mon, let's go!" She tugged at her friend and they rushed off as Kakashi groaned and strolled after them. He took another look behind him to the teams of genin surrounding the main gate and sighed as he noticed the crossing chakra threads, too low on the ground to be visible anyone but a young child. He hoped that it wouldn't cause too much trouble, but something made him worry. He shivered slightly, and the loudspeaker crackled into life.

"All genin report to their gate. Repeat, all genin report to their gate! The second test of the chuunin exams is about to start!"

Kakashi's eyes widened, and he spun away after the retreating backs of the girls on his team. Behind the small boy a little shining thread slithered along the dirt, melted effortlessly onto the back of his spine.

**Ooh! What do you think of that?! Next time… it's the second exam, people! Please don't hold how slow I updated against me! And please review… reviews are always nice ^.^ CANARYwolfXx**


	8. Chapter 8: Enemies!

**Right, let's get started again! Hi, I'm CANARYwolf and this is the 8****th**** chapter of Kakashi already! Sorry, I had a little bit of block for a while, but I guess sometimes the story just writes itself, so enjoy! (Seriously, I don't even know what's about to happen!)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. This wonderful character of Kakashi plus all of the general Naruto-type stuff belongs to the genius that is Masashi Kishimoto**

Miu slumped to the floor, massaging her foot.

"It's been a whole day!" She whined, as Setsuko rolled her eyes, "We haven't seen anyone! _Anyone!_"

"Kami, Miu, stop complaining! We've still got a couple of days! We're bound to run into someone, 'kay?"

"… And what if they have an Earth scroll like us?" Kakashi muttered, and Setsuko growled,

"Stop being so pessimistic, you idiots! We're so going to be ok!"

Kakashi glared at her, but secretly admitted to himself that the teenager was probably right.

"Well, wandering around really _isn't _going to help." Miu sighed, "I guess we do need a plan."

"This comes from the same girl who said 'Let's get going! Stop talking! Run, come on, run!'" Setsuko mimicked the high voice of Miu, who chucked a packet of crisps into her face,

"Let's eat something, anyway." Miu eagerly ripped open another packet, and Kakashi slowly came and sat next to them.

"Hey, kid, you gonna tell us what you can do, anyway?" Setsuko asked through a mouthful of cheese and onion crisps.

"Mmm! We never really saw you training!"

"You were too busy with yourselves." Kakashi grumbled, and Setsuko happily slapped him in the face,

"Look, if we're going to be in this team for another two days, you might as well stop with the attitude."

"Yeah… look, we were a little angry that we had a little kid on the team-"

"-'Little kid'? Thanks a lot." Kakashi snorted, and Miu glowered at him,

"Like I was _saying, _we were annoyed, and I guess we were kind of mean. So, sorry."

"… Why were you so angry? It's not just 'cause I'm a kid, is it?"

Setsuko looked down, and then stood up in one swift movement. Miu sighed, and pulled her back down with a thud.

"Do you want me to tell him?" She asked, her voice unusually soft. Setsuko shook her head,

"I'll tell you, kid. We're in a team and all. Sensei did say to act like a proper team, and then we have a better chance of getting through." She looked up at the canopy of trees above them, and then grinned a little, sadly, "I… got really excited… you know, when you get yourself twisted up in a fantasy… maybe you don't, you're only, what, six? So I got hopeful… well, I have a kid brother, your age. Half-brother, I should say, and I'm not allowed to meet him. I know he's getting really good at the Academy. So… when sensei told us that a kid was going to be joining our team to take the exams… well, I thought it would be him. I thought I would get to meet him. I… really want to meet him. I don't have a brother or sister but him." She swallowed hard, and then smiled straight at Kakashi, "So I took my anger out on you. I'm really sorry, kid."

Kakashi looked at her, and then nodded slowly,

"Thank you for telling me. That is very kind of you. I bet you'll make a good big sister."

Setsuko laughed and jumped up, ruffling his head and breaking the thoughtful atmosphere,

"Ah, you're just saying that 'cause it's polite!" She sniggered, and Miu stood up as well,

"I didn't have any deep reason like that." She told Kakashi seriously, "I was just pissed that we're supposed to fight with a kid. Uh, sorry about that, too."

Kakashi tried to stick his tongue out, forgetting the mask that he had already become accustomed to wearing, and Miu laughed at the expression in his eyes. Then she gasped,

"What the fuck is that?" She cried, and Setsuko spun around, Kakashi looked at her fearfully as she pulled his shoulder, hard, so he turned his back on them.

"Chakra?" Setsuko asked, and Miu nodded,

"Kakashi, I don't want to alarm you or anything, but… there's someone's chakra attached to your back. They're probably tracking you, or maybe they're even trying to control you."

Kakashi's eyes widened and tried to twist around to see for himself.

"What. A. Shame." A woman's voice cackled from the darkness of the shadows that were beginning to fall with the sun set in the forest, "You found it. I must congratulate you all, darlings."

Setsuko, Miu and Kakashi immediately leapt into formation, with their backs to eachother, staring desperately into the trees to see who was talking.

"What have you done to the kid?" Setsuko demanded, her eyes darting wildly.

The voice snorted,

"Like I would reveal my secrets, sweetie. You sure are newbies. Maybe I should go easy on you all. Either way, you'll go crying home to your mothers when I'm done with you."

Kakashi closed his eyes, surprised that he hadn't sensed the sheer amount of chakra holding itself to his body before. Maybe it only felt so strong because the kunoichi was nearby. He steeled his nerves, then reached his small hands around to his back. Casting his mind back to the blue tent, he pictured the place where the chakra threads had touched the other ninja and tried to grab for the thread. A fierce burning sensation in his palm told him he had found it. He winced as the fake heat coursed through his hands and almost made him buckle. Then he tugged at the thread and heard a gasp from the woman. He gritted his teeth and used his chakra to scout out for the ninja, using the added amplification of her chakra's attachment to him.

"I don't have a mother." He murmured, and threw a knife into a tree to his left. He heard an enraged cry and with a caught breath he felt the thread detach itself from his back.

"Good work, kid!" Setsuko praised him happily, as she threw a shuriken straight at the same tree, and the fishnetted woman from the beginning fell into the clearing.

"You're that weirdo from earlier." Kakashi muttered, and Miu jumped, pulling him with her, as a clatter of knives landed where their feet had been. The woman's teammates- the disgruntled teenager and the ugly man- showed themselves at the sides of the woman, who picked herself up, wiping blood from her chin.

"Didn't I say, child, it is incredibly rude to call someone a 'weirdo'." She spat, and the lump of a man next to her grunted.

"Honesty is always the best policy!" Miu sang, her eyes twinkling, "Now then, if we're being 'polite', it is 'polite' to tell us what your true intentions are."

"Well, of course darling, because we're just going to crush you afterwards, so we might as well-"

"Shut up." The teenager growled, and the woman gasped gently,

"How uncouth!" She exclaimed, and he narrowed his eyes at her,

"Do _not _compromise the mission. We were expressly told that! Don't be a _fool!_"

Setsuko glared at the team in front of them,

"Mission?" She asked icily, and crossed her arms, "Where do you think we are? This is the chuunin exams. Anything like that is completely forbidden."

"Aw, sweetie, just because it's forbidden doesn't mean it doesn't happen." The woman gave a cold smile, "The exams are a special meeting of all of the most promising young ninja. Of course some countries want to take advantage of that-"

"_Shut up._" The dark-haired ninja next to her repeated, and she frowned,

"What? I gave nothing away!" The boy next to her rolled his eyes,

"They can guess more than enough from that. Now we have to kill them." He sighed, and turned his eyes to the team, his eyes alighting on Kakashi,

"We're here for you anyway, son of the White Fang. We're here for all the strongest genin."

"I thought we weren't supposed to tell them!"

"They're going to die. What does it matter?"

"That's what I was saying!"

Miu stepped in front of the grey-haired child, her eyes flashing,

"I don't like all this talk of _killing._ Don't you agree, Setsu-chan?"

"Yeah, you're right. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's cocky adults assuming they can wander in and hurt us just because we're younger than you." Setsuko agreed in a fake-sweet voice.

"Of course, we _hate_ having to fight, don't we?"

"Oh definitely! It's so annoying to make people pay for what they've said."

"So we're going to make sure you really regret pushing us into this." Miu narrowed her eyes, and pulled out a set of numchucks. Suddenly a rumbling in the ground made its way to the team's feet. Slowly and majestically, the big guy from the enemy team stood to his full height and glared at them,

"Let's fight." He mumbled, his voice causing the kids to feel tremors in their spines. Setsuko shook her head as if shaking off her fear and got into a fighting stance,

"Bring. It. On." She whispered.

**And with that, let's have a cliffhanger! Next time, we're going to see Kakashi fight! Yay! I hope I can update a little quicker this time. Oh, and please review . CANARYwolfXx**


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